When is it time to seek residential or inpatient care for a Mood Disorder?

It is advisable to consider 24/7 residential or inpatient treatment for Mood Disorders when: Suicidal thoughts become strong enough that safety is at risk Symptoms like hopelessness, rage, agitation or risky behaviors are escalating rapidly Self-care ability is lost completely due to extreme depressive fatigue or manic disorganization Work/School functioning is failing despite outpatient treatment efforts Medication adjustments and therapy have been unsuccessful preventing recurrence of severe manic or depressive episodes Coexisting substance abuse to relieve symptoms or psychotic symptoms emerge A safe, structured environment is needed temporarily to interrupt the Mood Disorder cycle so recovery skills can be established

How can I help a loved one with a Mood Disorder get treatment?

Here are some effective ways you can support a loved one who needs help getting into treatment for a Mood Disorder, like depression or bipolar: Review credible information on Mood Disorders and treatment approaches to understand their struggles better. Have an open, non judgmental conversation expressing concern and willingness to help make appointments. If your loved one has difficulty acknowledging problems, share their actions that prompted worries without assigning blame. Start a list of local therapists and programs, highlighting positives like specialties and comfort factors. Check health insurance coverage for mental health services, out of pocket costs and possible financial aid. Offer to go to education sessions and appointments but only if your loved one desires the support. Assist in scheduling and managing workflow barriers like transportation to ease initial access. Encourage taking medications and psychotherapy consistently despite side effects or discomfort. Create a supportive home environment for treatment by learning triggers and respecting boundaries. Express caring through regular check ins, low key social time and space as needed. As debilitating as Mood Disorders feel for you and your loved one, compassion combined with your steady presence through treatment can catalyze wellness. Have patience, seek support for yourself, and lead with hope and understanding each day.

Cornerstone

Mood Disorders

Get information on Mood Disorders including effects, symptoms, and get treatment in Arizona.

Living with Mood Disorders

Living with a Mood Disorder comes with a daily struggle to balance unpredictable swings in Mood and energy. There are times when many activities seem laborious or impossible due to extremely low motivation and sadness. Other periods bring restless sleeplessness, racing thoughts, impulsive behavior, and irritability, even over minor frustrations. It often feels like walking a tightrope while trying to manage the biological factors largely outside your control that amplify the highs and lows. Treatment through some combination of medication, psychotherapy, and lifestyle changes helps mitigate the chaos. However, recurring episodes still often emerge, requiring vigilance for signs of shifts. With patience, courage, and support, those living with conditions like major depression, persistent depression, and bipolar disorder can maximize stability while coming to accept and work within their limitations. Hope comes from focusing not on a cure for the incurable but on discovering one’s resilience no matter the uncertainty that lies ahead.

Jump to the following sections

Treatment locations

Definition

Risk Factors

Diagnosis

FAQ

View our Arizona mental health treatment locations

View Grayhawk Manor

View Scottsdale

View West Phoenix

Mood Disorders are a category of mental health conditions characterized primarily by disruptions in emotional state and regulation. They are driven by chemical imbalances altering neurotransmitter activity in brain areas controlling things like pleasure, motivation, appetite, sleep, concentration, and energy level. The most prevalent subtype is major depressive disorder, featuring prolonged intense sadness, hopelessness, disinterest, fatigue, and suicidal thoughts. Bipolar disorders involve alternating states between severe highs known as a mania with impulsivity, risk-taking, excitability, and little need for sleep, then extreme low periods.

Additional types include persistent depressive disorder with more chronic low-level symptoms and premenstrual dysphoric disorder tied to menstrual cycles. While Mood Disorder episodes often require acute treatment for stabilization, these tend to be recurrent conditions managed through maintenance plans to prevent or minimize relapses long term due to underlying biological vulnerabilities.²

Some influential risk factors make certain individuals more prone to developing Mood Disorders over their lifetime. Genetics and family history play a major role, with blood relatives of a person with bipolar or major depression being 2 to 4 times more likely to become affected themselves. This hereditary link relates to shared neurobiology and brain changes in areas regulating emotional control.

High levels of enduring stress, trauma during key development stages, and major life crises also increase odds by activating inflammatory processes and the body’s stress response. Hormonal changes tied to menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause can serve as triggers, particularly for those already vulnerable. Certain medications and substance abuse may worsen or bring about symptoms as well. In the end, Mood Disorders generally emerge through an interaction between genetic predispositions, significant stress exposure, and biological changes like aging, underscoring the value of prevention and early intervention whenever possible to improve long-term outlooks.

Getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step in securing effective treatment for Mood disturbances. Mental health professionals complete extensive evaluations exploring the duration, timing, and severity of changes across Mood, thinking, behavior, and physical health. Standardized scales and questionnaires help assess depression, mania, anxiety levels plus associated features like concentration issues or suicidal thinking. Identifying patterns of emotional peaks and valleys over the prior months hints at bipolar versus unipolar depression.

Lab tests measuring thyroid function and vitamin deficiencies rule out contributory medical factors provoking symptoms. Substance use history and family mental health patterns provide critical context on both presentation and prospective disease course. Diagnostic criteria specified in the DSM-5 distinguish between types like major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and bipolar I and II disorders based on the nature and timeframe of Mood swings. Recognizing the driving factors and niche characteristics of an individual’s disturbances informs customized treatment planning for long-term recovery.³

We accept most insurances

Learn about our residential mental health program

Signs and Symptoms of Mood Disorders

Depressed Persistent Mood

Prolonged feelings of intense sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, and/or loss of interest in life activities are hallmark symptoms of major depressive and persistent depressive disorders.

Manic Episodes

Periods featuring markedly elevated self-esteem, rapid speech, impulsivity, risky behaviors, excitability, and reduced need for sleep point to a potential mood disorder.

Cyclical Fluctuations

The clear presence of ups and downs between manic highs and depressive lows is the classic characteristic of Mood Disorders. There may be predictable patterns of these fluctuations.

Services We Provide

Residential treatment for Mood Disorders in Arizona

At Cornerstone Healing Center, we understand the exhaustion that comes from the endless emotional peaks and valleys of living with Mood Disorders like depression and bipolar. Our Arizona residential treatment programs provide refuge for those feeling imprisoned by the highs and lows. Our compassionate staff and homelike facilities facilitate intensive dialectical behavior therapy, counseling, life skills groups, mindfulness training, medication management, and holistic services like nutrition and yoga tailored to each client’s needs. Whether participating in specialized tracks for depression, bipolar, or dual diagnosis, you’ll be involved in developing your treatment plan to promote self-efficacy on the recovery journey. We aim to equip clients with long-term coping and stability through evidence-based interventions within a stable structure and supportive community. Our residential Mood Disorder treatment empowers you to step out of the darkness and into a brighter chapter guided by progress and hope.

Treatment Methods for Mood Disorders

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Different therapeutic approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provides strategies to reshape negative thought patterns while developing healthy emotional regulation skills.

Group Therapy

Supportive group counseling sessions help normalize Mood Disorder experiences, reduce isolation, teach coping techniques alongside others facing similar struggles, and foster accountability through sharing of story-lines along the recovery path.

Medications

Psychiatric medications like Mood stabilizers, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs help regulate neurotransmitter imbalances and brain activity to alleviate symptoms of depression or mania.

Sources

[1] Rakofsky, J., & Rapaport, M. (2018). Mood Disorders. CONTINUUM: Lifelong Learning in Neurology, 24, 804–827.

[2] Suppes T, Ostacher M. Mixed features in major depressive disorder: diagnoses and treatments. CNS Spectrums. 2017

[3] Brand, S., Möller, M., & Harvey, B. (2015). A Review of Biomarkers in Mood and Psychotic Disorders: A Dissection of Clinical vs. Preclinical Correlates. Current Neuropharmacology, 13, 324 – 368.

CLINICALLY REVIEWED

Lionel Estrada, LISAC

CLINICAL DIRECTOR

Lionel, a Licensed Independent Substance Abuse Counselor (LISAC) with over 4 years at Cornerstone, specializes in addiction and mental health. Trained in EMDR therapy, he employs a trauma-informed, empathetic approach to address underlying causes of these issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Mood swings refer to relatively brief and transient fluctuations in Mood that most people experience occasionally in response to stressors or triggers in life. They usually pass within a few hours or a couple days at most. Mood Disorders on the other hand involve more extreme, prolonged and disruptive periods of depressed or elevated Mood along with related changes in thinking and behaviors. Mood Disorder episodes typically last for weeks or months if untreated and can be so severe as to significantly damage work/school functioning, relationships and quality of life. The Mood shifts seen in depressive, bipolar and related disorders tend to reoccur over time as well due to underlying biological vulnerabilities.

It is advisable to consider 24/7 residential or inpatient treatment for Mood Disorders when:

Suicidal thoughts become strong enough that safety is at risk
Symptoms like hopelessness, rage, agitation or risky behaviors are escalating rapidly
Self-care ability is lost completely due to extreme depressive fatigue or manic disorganization
Work/School functioning is failing despite outpatient treatment efforts
Medication adjustments and therapy have been unsuccessful preventing recurrence of severe manic or depressive episodes
Coexisting substance abuse to relieve symptoms or psychotic symptoms emerge
A safe, structured environment is needed temporarily to interrupt the Mood Disorder cycle so recovery skills can be established

Here are some effective ways you can support a loved one who needs help getting into treatment for a Mood Disorder, like depression or bipolar:

Review credible information on Mood Disorders and treatment approaches to understand their struggles better.
Have an open, non judgmental conversation expressing concern and willingness to help make appointments.
If your loved one has difficulty acknowledging problems, share their actions that prompted worries without assigning blame.
Start a list of local therapists and programs, highlighting positives like specialties and comfort factors.
Check health insurance coverage for mental health services, out of pocket costs and possible financial aid.
Offer to go to education sessions and appointments but only if your loved one desires the support.
Assist in scheduling and managing workflow barriers like transportation to ease initial access.
Encourage taking medications and psychotherapy consistently despite side effects or discomfort.
Create a supportive home environment for treatment by learning triggers and respecting boundaries.
Express caring through regular check ins, low key social time and space as needed.

As debilitating as Mood Disorders feel for you and your loved one, compassion combined with your steady presence through treatment can catalyze wellness. Have patience, seek support for yourself, and lead with hope and understanding each day.

Still have questions about treatment?

Our admissions specialists are here to explain the process, answer any questions you may have, and ensure you’re getting the help you need to live a healthy life free from addiction.

VISIT OUR RESOURCE LIBRARY FOR MORE INFORMATION